The present invention generally relates to game calls and, more particularly, to camouflaged and decorative game calls.
In the past, it is well known to have painted game calls, where the exterior of the call is painted with various patterns or images.
Camouflage calls have been painted for many years, and have enjoyed considerable success in the past. However, these calls have had several drawbacks.
When these painted calls are used, they usually are exposed to moisture and are frequently subjected to physical impacts, which can dent or scratch the exterior surface of the call, increasing the potential for paint fragmentation to occur. Since, by their design, calls are made to contact the mouth of the hunter, ingestion of minute paint fragments from the exterior painted surface is a distinct possibility. Additionally, camouflaged game calls may have been painted with paint containing undesirable compounds, such as latex, which can be problematic for some hunters, or Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, which may cause an undesirable effluent of VOCs, which could be especially problematic if used with a deer grunt call or an elk bugle call, where even the smallest unnatural scent could possibly be recognized by such big game animals as something to avoid.
Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and apparatuses for providing calls which are camouflaged, or otherwise decorated, while minimizing the potential for ingestion of paint fragments, and reducing the problems associated with VOCs emanating from a painted surface.